Hand-picked cashmere sweaters are given new life as unique teddy bears and cashmere animals to be treasured for years to come. Designer Brooke Serson Cernonok handcrafts each one-of -a-kind bear, combining the softest colored cashmeres with modern satin and grosgrain ribbons, button or recycled suede/leather eyes. The vintage cashmere is extra soft, luxurious, and earth friendly. These irresistible bears and cashmere menagerie animals are an exquisite gift for any occasion: holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, new baby’s nurseries, weddings, bridesmaid gifts, gifts for “the girls”… or just a wonderful surprise to brighten someone’s day. Each teddylux cashmere item is custom made to order in the teddylux.com studio, a rehabbed 100-year old rug factory in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

[Teddylux]

Hear the World is offering a special kind of gift: international stars such as Jude Law, Elle Macpherson, Lenny Kravitz and Laura Pausini have been photographed by rock star and photographer Bryan Adams for the Hear the Worldinitiative. These pictures are exclusively available for you to admire in the Hear the Worldcalendar 2010. Reserve your copy of this limited edition calendar now for EUR 19.90 / USD 29.90 / GBP 17.89 / CHF 29.90 to support the charitable projects run by the Hear the WorldFoundation. All net sales proceeds will go to the Hear the World Foundation. This Foundation is committed to using its financial resources and supplying hearing systems to improve the quality of life for people who suffer from hearing loss.

[Hear the World Calendar 2010]

Kenneth Cole’s AWEARNESS has partnered up FEED Projects to create a FEED Health Backpack. With every purchase of a FEED health backpack, another identical pack for Community Health Workers is filled with medical supplies by Millennium Villages – an organization that provides solutions to improve lives and lift people out of extreme poverty throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

The limited edition Backpack and T-shirt will be sold at Kenneth Cole New York stores nationwide as well as Kennethcole.com and feedprojects.org starting August 15^th. The Backpack retails for $125.00 and the 100% organic shirt retails for $35.00 with 100% of net proceeds going to the AWEARNESS FUND and FEED Projects.

The Millennium Village Community Health Worker Program has worked with FEED Projects, LLC to create the FEED Health/MV Backpack.  This backpack, which has been especially designed for CHWs, will be used to carry a training manual, cell phone, and other necessary tools into the field. The backpack will serve to identify CHWs as they complete household visits, establishing their community presence as healthcare providers.

The highly functional backpacks are made from eco-friendly recycled plastic-based nylon and are durable, waterproof and comfortable to wear.  Each FEED Health/MV backpack sold to a customer in the US will provide the same backpack to a Community Health Worker through the Millennium Villages.

Kenneth Cole’s AWEARNESS is a not-for-profit entity that supports, empowers and encourages acts of service, volunteerism and social change. How? Through merchandise, events and providing a platform for the inspirational acts of Change Agents – people who see a problem and try to become the solution by striving to make a difference. AWEARNESS aims to raise awareness, stimulate public debate and provide inspiration and opportunities to help our communities get involved and give back. All monies raised are donated to the AWEARNESS FUND – a not-for-profit entity that supports, encourages, and empowers acts of service, volunteerism and social change.

[Kenneth Cole's AWEARNESS joins Lauren Bush's FEED]

FEED Projects was started in 2006 when acclaimed model and activist Lauren Bush designed a bag to benefit the United Nations World Food Program’s (WFP) School Feeding operations. Lauren, a WFP Honorary Spokesperson who has visited eight WFP food aid operations around the world, was inspired by the plight of the people she met on her travels. She took a special interest in WFP’s School Feeding program, which feeds and educates hungry children.

Inspired by the aesthetic of the bags of food distributed by WFP, she created the FEED 1 bag, a reversible burlap and cotton bag stamped with “FEED the children of the world” and the number “1″ to signify that each bag feeds one child in school for one year.

At the UN, Lauren met then-WFP Communications Officer Ellen Gustafson and they hatched a plan to use FEED bags to FEED the world. In 2007, Lauren and Ellen founded FEED Projects, LLC and started selling FEED 1 bags in April of 2007. By the end of 2007, they raised donations for WFP to feed over 37,500 hungry children in school for one year. In 2008, FEED Projects various partnerships will lead to over $4 million for WFP school feeding.

[FEED Projects]

When Carrie and Neil Wesseler became foster parents, they not only took care of their own foster child, but decided to start helping children all over the area.  At the training session for foster parents, the instructor told them to imagine a child watching TV when someone comes in and hands them a garbage bag, telling them to throw all their stuff in and get ready to go to foster care.

A foster child is already scared and alone, and throwing their stuff into a garbage bag was too much for Carrie.  The instructor told her they had no choice, that garbage bags were all they had to use.  Most of the children didn’t have many possessions anyway.

Carrie decided to do something about the bags, and started asking for donations for duffle bags.  She donated them so that at least some children would have something better to use.  Once she began the donations, she decided to set up a booth at a festival to try to get more.  To draw people to the booth, Carrie melted down crayons and poured them into molds, making fun shaped crayons which she sold for 25 cents.

The response was overwhelming, and the crayons sold out quickly.  Carrie made more.  And more.  Now she raises enough money from her crayons that she can get duffle bags in bulk for the foster children.  She started out donating to one county in Indiana where she lives.  Now she is supplying bags to counties all over Indiana.

Carrie also has started making up school bags for foster children, since she found out many of them start out with nothing.  She fills backpacks with school supplies and gives them out to the needy kids.

Not only has Carrie brought happiness to foster children around Indiana, but she has brought joy to the kids who get to use her fun crayons.  She is using a cute and creative idea to benefit others, and that is something that we need more of every day.  It’s simple things like this that change people’s lives.  No one ever thinks about those garbage bags, but these children will be affected by what she did for them forever.  When they look back on the day they were taken to their foster home, maybe they felt a little more at home right from the start because of Carrie’s work.

Carrie calls her work “Project T3,” which stands for “Totes for Tots and Teens.”  For more information on the project, go to the website at projectT3.org.  There you can also find out about the donations she needs for her duffle bags and bookbags and other ways you can help out with the project.

Each KAUZBOT is an 18” tall plush toy robot handcrafted by a human. They are designed for ages 3 and up and meet all. Better Business Bureau standards. An accompanying tag on the bot will display the name and logo of the particular
non-profit organization associated with that KAUZBOT. Each organization will also be featured on the “kauses” page at www.KAUZBOTS.com. The Kauzbot featured above “KHLOE” is passionate about promoting oral and overall health for millions of economically disadvantage children. Her Kause: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation – delivering help and hope to children in need…because every child deserves a healthy smile. 10% of the sale price from Khloe will be used to benefit the work of the NCOHF. To learn more about the NCOHF and how you can help, visit www.americastoothfairy.com. They also offer a really cool coloring sheet! Kalvin Coloring Sheet

Facebook – join I Love Kalvin Kauzbot
Twitter – follow Kalvin Kauzbot

[Kauzbots]

Tonya Myrick – TOYS

USACE-GRS

Building 511

APO AE 09331

Per the new rules you’ll now have to fill out a customs form, which will require a trip to the post office.